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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Battle of Nashville

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02135 Author/Creator: Place Written: Nashville, Tennessee Type: Broadside Date: December 15-16, 1864 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 42.2 cm, Width: 20.8 cm Order a Copy

Six stanza poem dramatizing the action at the Battle of Nashville. Each stanza has a heading: "The Preparation," "The Night Scene," "The Prelude," "The Second Day," The Chief," and "The Charge." The stanza titled "The Chief," is the shortest and is an overwrought description of Union Major General George H. Thomas: "Serene and steady as a Polar Star / Whose light no clouds can quench nor billows mar / But shines while tempests lash the deep below, / Thomas surveyed the turbid storm of war / Firm as Gibraltar in the whirlwind's's jar, / And gazed and watched to strike the final blow. / With god-like skill to reason and combine- / The moment comes -- 'Now charge along the line!'" Has original carte-de-visite of Major General George H. Thomas at the top. With pencil noted on verso: "Sent by James from ... " (the rest of the note is illegible). Also has two very faded and illegible names in pencil on verso. Edges have frayed, but have been repaired.

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